Dishes and Grace

My husband loves going to auctions. He doesn't always buy things at them but he enjoys going and occasionally finding a hidden treasure or great deal. At an auction not too long ago he found a set of china for a very cheap price. He looked into selling them but the place he wanted to sell them to already had quite a few in stock. We considered selling them online on other websites but figured it would be a lot to ship and just ended up deciding to just keep them for now and use them, as they are quite pretty dishes.

As I was washing them so we could use them - they'd gotten quite yellow with age - I was surprised at the difference between the brownish-yellow cast on top and the white china underneath. I got to thinking and that's kind of like us and God, isn't it? We sin, do bad things and get dirty just like the dishes - but still, God's able to clean and polish us up into good looking dishes...err, humans. No matter how yellowed or stained with sin we get, nothing can separate us from God's grace and goodness.
I guess this is something God wants to remind me of because I had another lesson on it on a different night. I was having yet another endless battle with my son over picking up his room. We were arguing back and forth and I had been losing my patience somewhat so I called him over to me. I hugged him and told him that I loved him. He said "Still?" I looked at him, puzzled and he said "Even when you're mad at me?" I explained to him that yes, no matter how mad or frustrated I get, I will always love him. It turned out to be a great time to explain to him that God feels the same way.

"No matter how filthy something gets, you can always clean it right up." 

- from the movie Bruce Almighty